Conception by Natsuki Takauji.
Untitled by Haksul Lee.
Counterpoint, a duo exhibition of works by Japanese artist Natsuki Takauji and Korean artist Haksul Lee, is on display at The City College of New York’s Morris R. Cohen Library Archives Gallery from April 20-May 18. The exhibition, curated by Francine Rodgers, features over 30 works by the artists created over the past 10 years.
The exhibition presents the complexity of the creative journey of Takauji and Lee, who have worked for many years as colleagues. This exhibition uses the disorderly juxtaposition of different bodies of work to express the highly individual complexity of creative thinking.
Takauji and Lee approach artistic subjects in radically different ways that allow the viewer a glimpse into how they interact, interfere and communicate with each other. This radical presentation of their artwork invites the viewer into the complex workings of the artistic mind.
About Natsuki Takauji:
Takauji was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to NYC in 2008. She is an interdisciplinary visual artist practicing sculpture, painting, printmaking, installation, literature and digital art. She studied Visual Art at The Art Students League of New York where she currently teaches metal sculpture and leads a public sculpture program with Works in Public, a partnership with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
She has exhibited a series of public art including interactive sculptures “Window,” “Window II,” and “Confession.” She creates art as the ultimate way of communication to bridge between subjects, objects and people. She recently curated an exhibition, “Echoes in Harlem,” at West 132nd St. Community Garden.
Her recent “Shin Project” explores the idea of belief in people’s lives and was inspired by her experience growing up in a spiritually confused environment. She likes to experiment and observe how different materials react to each other, and her work often has metal structures combined with soft materials such as fabric, paper, wax, oil and clay.
Her collaborative and socially engaging work, “What Is Your Name?,” was made during her ArtPort Residency at LaGuardia Airport, and it became part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s permanent collection in 2020. She also received grants from the Queens Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City Council, New York Foundation for the Arts and The Art Students League of New York.
About Haksul Lee:
Lee was born in 1974 in Seoul, South Korea, and keeps his studio in Union City, NJ. He received a certification of painting from The Art Students League of New York in 2015 and has exhibited his works in the United States and abroad.
His recent public art installations include, “The Giving Tree” in Flushing Meadow Corona Park (2022) and “Proceeding Being” at Riverside Park South (2012). Lee contributed works to The CA ArtPort Residency, Queens Council on the Arts, LaGuardia Airport in Queens (2020), and the M2M Public Sculpture Project in Riverside Park South (2012) while also serving as art fabrication director.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Ashley Arocho
p: 212-650-6460
e:
aarocho@ccny.cuny.edu